Rinshan kaihou
Rinshan kaihou 「嶺上開花」 is a yaku obtained when a player declares kan and wins with the tile drawn from said kan.
| Type | Yaku |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 嶺上開花 |
| English | Dead wall draw |
| Value | 1 han |
| Speed | Varies |
| Difficulty | Hard |
In sanma, this yaku can also be obtained after declaring kita and winning with the tile drawn after. (To be precise, rinshan is scored when winning with a rinshanpai, or a tile drawn from the dead wall. Both kan and kita cause a draw from the dead wall, so this yaku can be scored after either kan or kita).
Meaning
"Rinshan kaihou" literally means "flowering 「開花」 on the range 「嶺上」". In a sense, the dead wall is treated or viewed as a "mountain", where the winning tile after the kan draw symbolizes as a "flowering" effect.
Procedure
When calling kan, a player must draw an extra tile from the dead wall. This is known as the rinshanpai 「嶺上牌」. If the hand is completed with this tile draw, then this yaku is awarded. It is possible for rinshan to be the only yaku for the hand, though it is usually combined with other yaku.
Setting up rinshan kaihou
Like any hand, winning with rinshan requires tenpai to even have a chance of winning. There are two ways to do this.
1. The hand is already in tenpai, and draws/calls the tile required to kan.
Draw: Waiting for: 
The hand is already in tenpai, and is able to call kan without breaking tenpai, giving the chance for rinshan.
2. The hand is in 1-shanten, is currently holding a extra tile that enables kan, then enters tenpai with another draw.
- Draw:
Waiting for:
Before drawing 5-man, the 4th hatsu was an extra tile that does not contribute to the hand. After drawing 5-man, the hand will enter tenpai as soon as the hatsu is discarded or melded for a kan. If a kan is called, and the draw was 7-sou, the hand can win with rinshan. Otherwise, the unwanted rinshanpai may be discarded and riichi be called.
Compatibility
^ Ippatsu requires riichi to be of any use.
| RCH | DRI | IPP | SMO | TAN | PFU | IPK | ITT | YAK | SDJ | SDO | TOI | SNA | SNK | CHA | JUN | RPK | SSG | HRO | HON | CHN | CHI | RIN | HAI | HOU | CHK | |
| RIN |  |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rinshan kaihou is compatible with almost any hand that can accommodate a kan call. This rules out pinfu, ryanpeikou, and chiitoitsu, as these hands do not allow kan. Chankan, haitei, and houtei all require winning from a different location than a kan replacement tile (another player's kan, the live wall, and another player's discard, respectively) and so cannot combine with rinshan. Finally, a kan would interrupt a chance for ippatsu.
With haitei
Rinshan kaihou cannot be combined with haitei. Haitei requires winning from a tile drawn from the live wall, the haiteihai, while rinshan requires a draw from the dead wall.
Sanma
In sanma, rinshan can be won after declaring kita, since each kita call also draws a tile from the dead wall. Therefore, rinshan can be scored with pinfu, ryanpeikou, and chiitoitsu. The only yaku ineligible with rinshan in sanma are ippatsu, chankan, haitei, and houtei.
Sekinin barai
Some rulesets impose a liability payment, called sekinin barai or pao, on the discarder of a kanned tile in the event of a rinshan kaihou win.
If this rule is in effect: when a player calls an open kan, the discarder is liable for payments until the end of the caller's turn. If the caller wins with the immediate rinshan, payments occur as if the discarder was ronned. If the caller makes further kans, the discarder would still be liable until the caller discards a tile.
External links
- Rinshan kaihou in Japanese Wikipedia